Oh, These Revived Love Affairs
by Accidentally The Whole Fanfic
Summary: After unwittingly summoning a tanked, violent Harvest Goddess with his shoe, Jack Ailes finds himself roped into having a wish made and granted for him. This would be fine by him, if it didn't coincide with him falling hard for someone for the first time in his life. Re-write of "Oh, These Crazy Love Affairs". Slash.
1. Prologue: We're All Mad

Prologue: We're All Mad

* * *

Leg in... no. Leg out... no. Leg back in - maybe if I chopped it off... that would show it, at least until I died from shock or blood loss.

Groaning, I threw the sheets off of me and sat up, hugging my pillow in complete frustration. I'd stripped all the way down to my underwear, and it was still too friggin' muggy and humid to fall asleep. May was ebbing into June on a sadistic wave of humidity, and it was somehow even worse out in the countryside than it had been in the city.

My Cocker spaniel, Bob, lay splayed on his back in his corner of the bedroom, snoozing away happily with his tongue lolling out as he carelessly flashed me and anyone who may have been peering into my bedroom window. Casting a resentful glance at him, I plodded out to the kitchen to whip open the freezer, standing in front of it for a minute before slamming it shut and slumping against it with a helpless groan. I was too tall to fit in the stupid thing and hibernate for the summer, and dumping out the entire ice bin on my mattress seemed like a stupid idea.

Swearing under my breath, I slipped on a pair of shorts and some sandals, slipping outside into the humid May night and hoping a nice dip in the lake uphill would cool me down enough. The rattling screeches of the cicadas made my head throb horribly as I made my way across my farm, but I held my head up proudly as I resisted the urge to rip my brain out and chuck it at them. It would certainly solve many of my problems, but it seemed a bit too extreme all the same.

Instead, I focused all of my thoughts into a singular point of rage, a constant mantra of _Fuck you_ directed solely at the existence of summer. If I couldn't sleep through it or will it away, maybe I could hurt its feelings without feeling bad about it later.

As I passed the stairs leading up to the hot springs and the mine, I stopped, feeling as though something strange was pulling me back. Maybe some sort of tractor beam, a spear through my abdomen that I'd somehow missed as a yellow-clad Hell ninja reeled me in - whatever it was, my feet led me up the stairs and over to the waterfall gushing away in front of the mine. I grinned, cocking my head to the side as I contemplated my options. It looked so cold and inviting...

"_Wheeeeeeeee!"_

A loud splash smacked through the stillness of the horribly warm night air, echoing with the sound of my cannonball into the river that ran past my farm. I paddled around happily, backstroking beneath the waterfall before pulling myself up and clasping my hands in mock prayer beneath the icy torrent.

"Harvest Goddess," I began mouth twisting up into a wry smile, "please turn off this stupid heat, because I'd really like to sleep."

The water roared in my ears. Maybe it was the best response I'd be able to get. Sighing, I bent down to grab the sandal that had flown off when I'd jumped in...

...It was hovering.

My sandal was_ hovering_. My sandal was hovering up the goddamn waterfall like aliens were trying to abduct it. I watched, gaping, as it vanished under the wall of clear water and mist pouring down from the lake above.

Moments later, it came hurtling back full-speed at my face. I cried out as the strap smacked me in the nose, falling back onto my butt with a loud splash as a beautiful, angry voice slurred, "CHEAP BASTARD."

My jaw dropped as I saw the waterfall begin to glow with a green light, a blinding form materializing within. Shielding my eyes, I whimpered, staring at the woman who hovered - hovered! - before me. She was tall, slender, and gorgeous - alabaster skin, much of it exposed by her rumpled turquoise halter top and short white skirt that gave way to an endless expanse of leg. She had brilliant, shining emerald-green hair tied back in a loose, sloppy braid, and her face looked like a beautiful Renaissance painting, from the full lips to the high cheekbones.

She was like a goddess...

...Like the Harvest Goddess...

I gurgled incoherently for a few moments, struggling to find the appropriate words for the gorgeous, dangerous deity before me.

"What the _fuck_?"

Those weren't the words I was hoping for.

The goddess squinted at me, leaning forward - I noticed the powerful smell of tequila, vomit, and pot rolling off her in waves, and she seemed to be having trouble focusing.

"NO. The ffffuck's the matter... with _you?" _she snapped, flicking my nose with a swipe of her finger. Straightening up and holding her head, she groaned, waving off my panicked stammering. "Okay, okay... I get it, kid, I dun'need yer lectures. I'm three thousand damn... centuries old now, and you're _not_, ssso... I can _handle _it. Okay? Hhhhandle. Hhhhannnndle..." She giggled. "You ever notice how weird that word sounds? Hhhhandle. But... but... don't _tell _my boss or anything. Yeah. Cause I'll have to fuck you up."

She whipped out a switchblade and pointed it at my chest. "An' I don't wanna fuck you up. Yer... kinda... yer kinda hot. You seein' anyone? _Damn_, son, everyone's so _ffffucking hot_ tonight, what _is_ this?"

That was exactly what I wanted to know. Had I not swallowed my tongue, I would've asked her.

"Look, look, I'm... ssssorryyyy," she hissed, patting me on the head. "You're okay. Heheheh, I can totes see yer nipples, dude." She groaned and rubbed her temple. "I'm kinda... yknow, busy and shhhhhit, so if you wanna get some wishhhhin', I mean... yeah, tomorrow's good. So come back tomorrow! Make a wish! Or I'll... ffffuck you up. Okay?" The switchblade was aimed my way again. "Lates, man."

I sat in the water, trembling, as she popped out of view. The smell of booze and weed still hung heavy in the air. My eyes were wide, my breathing labored and ragged. I wasn't sure if the water around me was suddenly a few degrees warmer, or if it was just my imagination. I wasn't sure if _any_ of this had just been my imagination.

"I just wanted some sleep," I finally whimpered, collecting my sandals and stumbling clumsily back to the farm as my mind tried to work out just what in the hell had happened. Maybe I was delusional from lack of sleep. Maybe I _was_ asleep, and it was some deranged, vibrant nightmare brought on by taste-testing my friend Karen's entries for the Cooking Festival. Maybe this was the abyss gazing back into me. No matter what it was, I wasn't chancing being fucked up by a malevolent deity with a blade. I would see her tomorrow, even if I wet myself the whole way there.

I lay curled up in a ball on top of my mattress for the rest of the night, teeth chattering, body trembling violently.

I still wasn't cold.

* * *

I bolted upright, rubbing my eyes and looking around as the blurred blobs around me slowly focused into actual objects. A faint sound still hung in my ears that I couldn't quite place - an explosion? A shout? A riot?

A sparkling glint near my bedroom door caught my eye, and I quickly shooed Bob away from it as I plodded over, nudging the broken glass gingerly with my foot:

The remains of an empty tequila bottle, crowded around a rolled and sealed letter.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I had some reservations about doing this. It's been a LONG time, I haven't had the original story on my hard drive for years now, and I wondered if it was best to just leave it alone. On the other hand, a lot of people liked that story, and I've found myself wanting to redo it for nearly a year now (call it a fondness for the pairing which I won't spoil for the new readers).

I felt it was a bit unfair of me to take it down, in retrospect, but I also felt I could have written it far better than I did back then. We'll find out. So... here it is. I hope I can do both the original _and _my evolved writing skills justice. And I hope you'll follow me along for the remake of Oh, These Crazy Love Affairs.

Let's do this.


	2. 1: Wish for You

**Pre-chapter notes: **I probably should've noted this earlier, but the Harvest Goddess is meant to be extremely OOC in this story. It's pretty much similar to how I originally wrote her, and so she stays as intended. Also, I've added a small scene to the end of the prologue that gets referred to in here, so if you missed it - check it out! It's short. Now, let's get this show on the road!

Chapter 1: Wish for You

* * *

I sat at the kitchen table, fully awake, staring blankly at the simple note spread out before me as I chugged my coffee.

_I was serious, _it said. There was no signature, but it didn't exactly need one. It smelled like a brewery. I shuddered, and headed outside to tend to my farm.

_So this goddess really does _apparently _exist, and she wants to grant me a wish, _I reasoned, ignoring how completely bizarre the idea sounded as I brushed my horse. "That's pretty nice of her, right, Homer?" I asked aloud, refilling his water trough.

Homer snorted, chewing idly on a pile of hay in the corner. He wasn't terribly opinionated.

My thoughts engaged in a nonstop barrage of conflicting opinions as I continued my work: A _you're crazy, you were asleep the whole time and just dreamed it up_ as I watered the tomatoes and pineapples; a _you're just being skeptical, you big baby _as I harvested the last patch of strawberries from spring; a _seriously, man, get to the clinic. You're delusional from all the heat either way _as I finished fertilizing a patch of corn.

As I sat down on my porch to rest, I pulled the crumpled-up note from the pocket of my shorts and smoothed it out, glancing over the words again and again. The pile of broken glass in my trash can gave me no cause to be skeptical at all, but the third me had a point: Maybe this was all a very elaborate, stupid mirage of some sort. Or a fever dream. "Maybe I was dead."

"Nah, you're not pale enough to be a ghost," spoke the pair of sandal-clad feet that stepped into my line of vision. Looking up, I spotted my friend Karen, who continued, "Why would you be dead, anyway?" as she pulled me to my feet and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you know, those crazy murderous rampages you go on," I replied offhandedly, stretching and yawning as I followed her out to my crops. "What brings you over here, anyway?"

She poked idly at a green tomato, flicking it against the cage over and over. "Just saw you wandering around here, muttering to yourself, and I wanted to see how long it took you to notice that someone was listening."

"I kind of expect it after six months here," I responded, crossing my arms and tapping my foot thoughtfully. Another internal debate was taking form, but Karen would provide the answer before I even had time to think it over anyway:

"I was on my way to the hot springs." She was tugging insistently on my hand, even as she added, "You wanna come with?"

"Ah, I-" My mind and throat locked up as Karen started dragging me off towards Mother's Hill, bits and snatches of something about the Harvest Goddess barely brushing my ears. Coming to, I suddenly freed my hand from hers and motioned for her to wait as I scrambled over to the shipping bin and scooped out a few strawberries. "Okay, I'm ready," I replied, my voice oddly bright.

Karen eyed the fruits I was holding, torn between skepticism and curiosity. "Hungry?"

"Nah." I hesitated, before shrugging, and blurting out, "You said she likes strawberries, right?"

She smiled, looking surprised. "So, you believe in her too, huh?"

The note flashed to the forefront of my mind, leading in snatches of whatever-it-had-been from the previous night. "I... don't... _not_ believe in her," I responded finally, earning a shrug in response. "Not necessarily, anyway. But, hey. I'm farming, so I may as well humor the idea, right?" _Or she'll gut me like a fish_.

Karen grinned and nodded. "Couldn't hurt."

As we neared the hot springs, three distinct shapes came into view by the river: A damp, wriggling burlap sack; my neighbor, Popuri, looking fascinated; and Kai, the owner of the snack bar on the beach, wading around and pulling fish from the water with ease.

"Oh, it's like watching _Mulan,_" Popuri sighed dreamily as three more fish slapped wetly into the open sack.

Kai simply sent a slick grin at her over his shoulder. "Is it? Want me to teach you how to be a man, kiddo?" He flexed and posed, making exaggerated grunts and groans.

Popuri giggled in response and slapped him hard on the shoulder, causing him to slip and fall on his back into the river with a startled yelp. The two were laughing as he clambered out, soaked to the bone.

"Popuri, stop trying to drown people," Karen sighed, smirking nonetheless while Kai shook and wrung himself as dry as he could. "Expecting a lot of business tonight, Kai?"

"Nah, just hungry." Kai eyed the sack again and shrugged. "Hungrier than I thought, apparently." Spotting me out of the corner of his eye, he grinned and waved. "Hey, Jack! You like fish?"

"Hey, Kai." I waved back and peered into the sack, eyes widening slightly. "I _love_ fish."

"He's gonna eat the whole bag raw," Karen cracked, giving me a light shove on the shoulder. "C'mon, stop drooling on Kai's stock."

Kai tied up the sack and hoisted it over one shoulder, waving at us as he headed down the path leading past Gotz's house. "Maybe you guys can stop in for lunch tomorrow, then! A couple of other people are coming, but there'll be plenty of fish to go around! All you can eat, even!" He gave me a pointed nod and a thumbs up, before heading off back towards town.

"Oh, I have to work tomorrow afternoon," Popuri huffed, crossing her arms and scowling. She kicked a pebble into the river.

"Well, maybe we can go Thursday," Karen assured her, patting her on the shoulder. "Look, Rick and I really appreciate you covering for him, though..."

Popuri gave a little start, and smiled back at Karen. "Oh, no, it's okay! What are sisters for, right?" She giggled.

Karen laughed and clapped Popuri on the shoulder, before looking over to me. "How about you? You going over?"

I licked my lips, the smell of grilled fish already beginning to waft from my imagination and past my nostrils. I breathed in deeply. "Ohhh, yeah."

Karen let out a snort of laughter, shaking her head and sending her blonde ponytail flapping about. "And you haven't even tried his cooking yet. He's been taking lessons from Doug and Ann," she clarified, upon seeing my questioning look. "So you'd better save some leftovers for us!"

"What-overs?" I called back, waving as she and Popuri headed over to the hot springs for a dip. Sighing, I headed over to the waterfall, feeling my stomach go from growling excitedly, to doing anxious flip-flops. I heard soft splashes and giggles behind me, swept away beneath the imposing roar of the water. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I looked upward. "Please don't eat me."

In, the strawberries went - one, two, three, dancing up into the misty nothingness. I blinked, trying to get myself used to the sight - but, before I could, a flash of light filled the area.

When my eyes had finally adjusted, she was before me again: Hair pinned back in a messy, frizzed bun, eyes concealed by gigantic, dark glasses. Her pale skin had a sickly pallor to it this time. She wore a monogrammed, green silk bathrobe that was sloppily tied, and she held a glass of something fizzy and blue. The strawberries were floating in the mixture.

"Whoever you are, I freaking love you right now," she mumbled, downing the mixture in one gulp and belching contentedly. Sighing, she patted her belly. "Oh, man, that hit the spot."

"Uh, you're welc-"

"Shh!" she hissed, cringing and rubbing the side of her head. "Keep it down, alright?"

"Sorry," I whispered back, cringing and rubbing the back of my head nervously. "I just-"

"You're that kid from last night, right?" she continued, possibly peering at me - it was hard to tell with the glasses. "Jack Ailes, right?"

"Err, how-?" I stopped myself. Hell, she was a goddess. That much was obvious, even if it turned out that this had been, hopefully, all in my head the whole time. If she knew my name, that seemed about par for the course. "Yeah... I'm the one you said you were gonna-"

"About that, yeah..." She held up a hand to stop me once more, and clumsily rumpled my hair. "Sorry, kid. I get kinda mean and, uhh, horny when I'm tanked... plus, we got our bonus last night, so... yeah, I kinda overdid it." She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "You ever seen someone bleed _pure, concentrated absinthe_?"

I blanched. That sounded downright painful. Maybe even fatal, but who was counting when you were dealing with immortals? "Uhh, can't say I have..."

"Want to?" Upon seeing my jaw drop, she burst out into a husky, sensuous laugh, before grimacing and rubbing her forehead. "Okay, I gotta go back soon, kick Cthulhu out of bed before Dad finds him... look, I didn't mean to scare you or anything, but I really _was_ being serious about the whole wish deal last night. You got my note, right?"

My mind struggled to process this, jamming as a flood of what-ifs and maybes crashed in the rush to be the first through the opening gates. "D-did you say-"

"One wish," she confirmed, nodding, holding up a finger for emphasis. "It's a contractual obligation thing, anyway: Give an offering, get a wish, subject to our scrutiny, case-by-case, right to refuse, blah blah blah - but you've been doing okay on the farm, and those strawberries were _great_. So it's no skin off my back."

"I just offered my sandal," I blurted out, looking at the ground in embarrassment. "By accident."

"Those strawberries were intentional, though," she mused, giving me a toothy, crafty grin. "The contract doesn't differentiate-"

"But I really-"

"-But _I_ do," she finished. "So, since you're freaking out about the whole thing, I'll just cut it down to one wish. But there's still that sandal, and I'd hate to let a perfectly good wish go to waste... okay, maybe I can work the spare one over to one of the other villagers, my boss is pretty lenient..." She snapped her attention back to me, sending her train of thought plummeting off the hillside. "Look, what are you so worried about?"

"'Be careful what you wish for'?" I offered, shrugging weakly. It was a feeble excuse - a stupid one, really. Despite her threats the night before, she didn't seem inherently malevolent. She was offering to grant me anything I wanted. _Anything _I wanted... what the hell _did_ I want, anyway? Maybe that was it - there were so many wonderful things to choose from: Common sense, money management skills, infinite patience, a brutal and rewarding ascent to absolute godhood, an alpaca that looked like Elvis-

"There _are_ limitations," she added sternly, folding her arms and staring down at me. I straightened up quickly, attempting to uncouple the megalomaniacal cravings from my own train of thought. She shook her head. "I don't think I have to worry about you breaching them, though. You seem like a good kid."

In spite of myself, I cracked a wry smile. "I used to roast my sister's Barbies in the oven."

She scoffed, and waved it off. "Pff, who didn't? I _still _do it. And it's _fun_." Her expression seemed to brighten, and she snapped her fingers, cringing a bit at the noise afterward. "And... so is this! It's perfect!" She glanced at my baffled expression and shook her head, smirking. "You'll see. You're gonna love it, trust me. I've got this."

"Got what?" I asked, anxiety starting to overtake me once again as the Harvest Goddess yawned and shuddered.

"You'll _see_," she repeated, stretching and groaning. A few joints popped loudly, and she moaned happily. "Man, those strawberries really hit the spot. Hey, look, just leave it to me, and your old auntie HG here'll get you all hooked up!"

"Hooked up with _what_?" I asked again, exasperated. She waved me off as she rippled away beneath the mist. "Don't you fade out when I'm asking you something!" I half-yelled, wondering why I was suddenly talking to an immortal, omnipotent being like she was a rebellious teenager. "Isn't this _my_ wish? Don't _I _get any say in this?"

Three small objects pattered lightly against my face in response. I peeled them off and stared at them blankly. Strawberry tops.

"...She'd better know what she's doing," I muttered darkly, shoving the leaves into my pocket and stalking past the hot springs.

"Jack, who were you talking to?" Karen called, sloshing over to the gap in the fence surrounding the springs. Her flushed face peered out curiously. Apparently, the whole "hungover magical being" deal had failed to attract anyone else's attention.

"Err, just got startled by a squirrel," I responded, waving as I headed back toward the farm. "See you later, okay? Bye, Popuri."

"Okay, sure."

"Bye!"

As I approached my farm, I observed my fields with a critical eye, and found nothing else outside that could occupy my time. Feeling otherwise too exhausted to head into town and chat with whoever happened to pass by, I trudged inside and flopped facedown on the couch. Bob darted over to sniff excitedly at my hand, and began licking it.

"There, there," I muttered, flapping my hand idly. I awkwardly stroked Bob's ears. "Daddy's just losing his mind, and maybe his free will to some small degree. Yeah, he is. What's new with you?"

Bob wagged his tail and rolled over onto his back, imploring me to scratch his belly.

On the plus side, I was going to gorge myself on fish tomorrow like my life depended on it. Maybe that would be it - a never-ending pile of seafood, regenerating itself even as I burrowed my way through it, like a delicious, edible game of Tetris.

Suddenly, the whole wish thing didn't seem so ominous after all.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Yes, Jack's love affair with fish, fish, and more fish! And also shrimp. Who can blame him? But what of the Harvest Goddess's plans? Should she really be scheming while hungover? Should anyone? Yes. Yes, absolutely. On the other hand, maybe Jack's just lost his mind.

Thanks for the feedback, and I'll see you in chapter 2!


	3. 2: Something There

Chapter 2: Something There

* * *

_My tail flipped and swished as I swam happily in the salty depths of the Pacific. The faint rays of sunlight from the surface glinted and gleamed off the flatware I clenched tightly in my merman fists as I pursued the irritated shark with a feral grin upon my face._

_I was casually devoured by a passing whale..._

A startled cry escaped my lips as I saw Bob's nostrils dilating rapidly with each enthusiastic sniff of my eyeball. He yapped happily, licking my face before leaping down off the couch and heading to the kitchen for a well-earned drink.

Grunting, I rolled off the couch, blinking in the strong mid-morning sunlight, noting with wide eyes that the clock read 12:24. I'd been out far longer than I'd realized, only being vaguely aware of flopping down on the couch in an exhausted pile the previous night. With a start, I lunged outside, darting from crop-to-crop and swinging my watering can around in wide, wild, reckless arcs. I was supposed to be at Kai's snack lodge for lunch in a short matter of time, and I was well behind on my usual morning's work - something about being late tended to drive me mad.

"I'll have to brush you later," I informed Homer, giving him a quick pat on the muzzle and making sure he had fresh hay and water. He merely flicked his tail and wiggled his ear in response, trotting over to the water trough. "You have the patience of a saint, you know that, boy?"

Homer nickered distractedly.

A quick shower later, I was sprinting down to the beach, earning puzzled stares from Barley and May as I passed Yodel Ranch.

"Lunch," I called, getting a bemused shrug in return. Hopping down the steps two at a time, I stumbled across the beach, pulling to a halt in front of Kai's snack lodge. My breathing was labored, and I slumped against the door as I let my jackhammering heart get back under control. I was late, but barging in like a madman seemed somehow over-the-top for the occasion. Wiping my sweaty forehead, I squared my shoulders and strolled calmly into the diner, waving casually. "Hey, guys, sorry I'm so late, I- uh?"

The little bell over the door jangled again as it closed behind me, and I stood there self-consciously, hands jammed in my pockets as I surveyed the empty room. "Geez, I can't have been _that_ late, right...?"

"Morning!" Kai's voice called from the back room, making me jump. "Be out in a second!"

"Ahh... okay!" Eyes darting around for somewhere to sit, I finally settled on a stool at the counter, taking in the large, bright, airy room. Half-opened wooden blinds covered the windows, and various prints of sealife hung on the white wooden walls - along with a framed photograph of Kai play-fighting with what looked like a shark skeleton. A few large ceiling fans spun lazily overhead, and the sound of the waves outside was only slightly muffled - it was extremely comfortable.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. What can I- oh, hey!" Slipping through the beaded curtains separating the back room from the rest of the diner, Kai gave me a small wave. "What's up, Jack? Wasn't expecting you for another..." he checked his watch, "hour or so."

_...Oh._

Grinning, he strode up to the counter and began to spray it off. "Guess you were really hungry, eh?"

Chuckling sheepishly, I shrugged and slumped down on the stool. "I, uhh... I guess my clock was a little fast," I admitted, avoiding his amused gaze. "I thought I was late, actually..."

"You look a little flushed," Kai muttered thoughtfully, surveying me with his dark, concerned eyes. "You didn't run all the way here in this heat, did you?"

I suddenly felt extremely foolish. "Guilty as charged. Err... sorry. But I'm fine, though," I added, waving off his concerned glance. "Really. Most of it's probably sunburn from working out on the farm."

"Well... okay..." Keeping his eyes on me, Kai rummaged through the cabinets by the stove, setting various pots and pans down, blasting two with a bit of cooking spray. "Still, how about I fix you something to perk you up? On the house," he added, catching me reaching for my wallet. Seeing me about to protest, he raised a hand. "Really, it's fine."

"If you're sure that's okay," I agreed reluctantly, shrugging. "Just a coffee, though."

My traitorous stomach rumbled loudly, and Kai shot me a broad grin.

"You sure, man?"

While the coffee was brewing, and Kai rummaged around in the meat cooler, I glanced around the diner once more and marveled at the prints and photographs adorning the walls.

"You, uhh... these are all your catches, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as my gaze settled on what looked like a print of a mermaid. "I always liked Ariel."

"Most of 'em." Kai opened a massive container of crab cakes, beginning to fry them up. He snickered, pointing at the mermaid with his spatula. "_That_ was a birthday gift from Greg. Told me his ex-wife modeled for it."

"Ah. Must've been the whole mermaid problem. Nice... hey, you need a hand there?" I scurried around the counter as Kai balanced two more containers in his arms, a bowl full of clam cakes starting to slide to the floor. "Whoa!"

"Nice save!" Kai called gratefully, balancing another bowl on his hip and setting a few utensils down as he took the clam cakes from me. He smiled wryly. "Sorry, I can be a bit of a klutz sometimes."

At those words, I immediately imagined how I must've looked, darting around my farm this morning like a dragonfly on crack. "Hey, it happens to everyone." The intoxicating aroma and welcoming sizzle of Kai's cooking had started caressing my nose and ears, hissing wonderful promises while I rolled the flatware up in napkins. "...Besides... this... this smells wonderful..." I sidled off towards the sink, faintly wondering if I was drooling.

Kai let out a loud bark of laughter, sending me crashing through my cloud and back to the ground, where I suddenly realized I was helping him set a large basket of bread down. "Man, you must be starving! Well, it'll be done soon enough. You've been a pretty big help, you know - ahh, you don't have to wash those," he added sheepishly.

Looking down, I noticed I was scrubbing out the coffee mug from earlier. Shooting him an awkward grin, I shrugged and set it down on a dish towel to dry. "Sorry, I kinda overstepped my boundaries there a bit..."

"Nah, I should be the one apologizing," Kai responded, now chopping up an assortment of vegetables at light speed, and somehow retaining all of his fingers in the process - or, at least, not screaming in agony. Wiping his forehead, he smiled apologetically at me as he slid the vegetables into a large bowl. "You're a guest, you know? I want you to relax! Besides, I hear you've been doing a great job at that farm of yours, working your butt off. Bet you're making your gramps proud."

My ears tingled slightly at the compliment. "Well, it's not a _lot_ so far, but... I've been doing what I can. Hey, you can come down and see it sometime," I added quickly, watching as Kai tossed the salad around like an omelet in a pan - everything landed perfectly back in the bowl. I let out a low whistle. "That's... that's pretty incredible for a klutz."

"Thanks!" Cocking his head, Kai frowned, lower lip jutting out a bit. "Well, that is, thanks for the offer _and_ the compliment- ah, you know what I mean!" As he flashed me a somewhat embarrassed grin, he fumbled a bit with the bowl. I lurched forward to help keep him from dropping it, the two of us scuttling awkwardly toward the counter like a blue-and-violet man-spider creature, our legs bumping together in a clumsy rhythm. "Whoops! Alright, let's set you down... alright! Good save!" Kai cheered, exchanging a vigorous high five with me that left my hand stinging. His eyes sparkled slightly, and his expression softened a bit. "Really, though, you've been a great help today, Jack. Thanks. I'm pretty glad you got here early, actually."

I rubbed the back of my neck and focused my gaze on a spot slightly above his right ear, feeling oddly fuzzy and pleased. "Ah, it's... don't worry. It's actually been pretty fun, helping you out, though. And watching you work! You know," I babbled on, "Karen says your cooking rivals the Callahans', too, and... it definitely smells like it does - err - ah, geez. That sounded... well, you get what I mean, right?"

"Don't worry," Kai interrupted, looking extremely pleased, and a bit cocky. He grinned slickly at me. "Not the first time my cooking's gotten someone all stirred up!" After a pause, he grimaced and smacked himself on the forehead. "Wow, that - that was a pretty lame way to- anyway, think I'll start getting this set up for when everyone else arrives," he finished abruptly, moving fluidly around the kitchen as he finished preparing everything.

"Need any help?"

Hesitating for a moment, his back to me, Kai drummed his fingers on the counter, before shaking his head. "Nah, I'm good, thanks. But, uhh... well, Jack?" He glanced over his shoulder at me, his voice sounding oddly careful. "I was just wondering if maybe you'd li-"

Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a loud rapping on the door, followed by the bell jangling and clanging as Elli and Cliff made their way inside. Avoiding my curious stare, Kai spun around to shout a cheerful greeting at them, and I made my way over to join them at the table, sliding into an easy conversation with Cliff - though my gaze kept frequently flicking back in Kai's direction as he went about setting the food out. He looked slightly troubled, but caught Elli up in a broad stream of chatter almost instantly.

Moments later, Ann and Mary arrived, and lunch was underway as Kai plopped down into the chair across from mine, giving Ann a playful bump with his shoulder and becoming briefly engaged in an intense arm wrestling match with her.

"Winner's the best cook!" Ann grunted, slamming Kai's arm down right after issuing her challenge, and cheering loudly. "Sweet! Now I just gotta win against Dad when I do this!"

"Best two out of three?" At Ann's proud smirk and shake of the head, Kai waved her off. "Ahh... you're a real hardass, Callahan."

"I've heard it can scratch a diamond," Elli quipped, laughing as a chunk of sashimi whizzed by her ear. "Oh, come on, I just work with what you guys give me!"

My ascent into culinary nirvana seemed to speed up as lunch went on, though even as I chatted brightly with Mary about the layout I had in mind for a small apple orchard, I couldn't help but find my thoughts wandering off somewhere...

The sun was floating down to rest in the sea by the time everyone was finished, our bellies gladly full. I vaguely wondered if I might have let out a contented moo, but quickly dismissed the thought as Kai pressed the last of the leftovers into my eager hands.

"Man, you gotta teach me how to cook like this!" Cliff said as he left, waving and turning to hurry off after Ann. "Hey, wait up!"

"I'll race you back!" Ann shouted distantly. "Redhead headstart!"

"Aw, Ann! That's not fair!"

"The poor boy's doomed," Elli sighed, shaking her head and smiling. She and Mary turned back to Kai, and she pulled him into a quick, one-armed hug. "It really was sweet of you to invite us all. You should join us again for dinner sometime soon, alright?"

Kai nodded eagerly, eyes flashing. "Absolutely!"

"And you too, Jack," Elli added, before giving me a playful shove. "And start wearing sunscreen! You look like a salmon!"

"No, _you_ look like a salmon!" I shot back, swatting at her hand. We sucked in our cheeks and made fish faces at each other for a moment, before sticking our tongues out and snorting.

"Thanks for saving some for Gray," Mary added, smiling and shaking Kai's hand firmly. "Hopefully he can come with us next time!"

"Yeah, I think I'll bust his chops when he gets back tonight," Kai cracked, waving as the two girls departed - Elli, to her house, and Mary, presumably off to meet Gray. Turning to me, Kai seemed to bounce on the balls of his feet. "Man, you and Ann really cleaned your plates!" He laughed, following me out onto the beach, the door to his diner creaking back open behind him.

I shrugged, grinning at him. "Hey, you know... it's what we do best. She tell you what happened at the last cooking festival?"

"Yeah. I heard you two died," Kai said soberly, trying and failing to keep his face straight. He let out a loud snort, and the two of us dissolved into snickers as we reached the stairs to the beach. Behind us, the waves whispered amongst themselves, and a few seagulls chirped and squawked. "Well... anyway, Jack..." He rocked back on his feet, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans. "It was really great to have you here. Just think of it... hmmm... well, welcome to Mineral Town," he finished, cuffing me lightly on the shoulder and smiling. "Don't be a stranger, okay?"

"Definitely," I agreed, before halting and looking down slowly. With a jolt, I realized Kai's hand was still on my shoulder, and my own hand was resting atop his. Something deep inside my stomach flipped around. We jerked our hands back, mumbling apologies and avoiding each others' eyes. "Sorry, Kai, I didn't mean for-"

Kai spoke up at the same time: "Don't worry, it's alright - I wasn't-"

We both cut off in mid-sentence, letting the waves and the seagulls swallow the rest of our words. With an awkward grin, I stuck my hand back out, and Kai grabbed it, giving me a lopsided smile of his own as he shook it. Slowly walking up the steps backwards, I waved. "Well... hey, I had a blast. If you ever wanna hang out or something-"

"Yeah, sure! Sure," Kai repeated, doing his own backwards walk towards the diner. "Well, I gotta close up, now, so-"

"Well, I'll see you around! Oh, and Kai?" As he stopped, I beckoned him closer. Dropping my voice, I leaned toward him and whispered conspiratorially: "Karen was right."

Kai looked confused for a moment, before the realization struck him. His responding grin flashed bright white in the sunset. "Well, hey, you know... It's what I do best!"

With a final wave, I turned around and began strolling home, humming to myself as I swung the bag of leftovers back and forth, listening to the plastic rustle and smack against my legs. Even though the food was cooling down, I could still feel the wonderful smells tickling at my nose. "I think Kai's my new favorite person here," I sighed later as I fed Bob, scratching him behind the ears. I flopped down onto the couch and clicked the TV on, only half-listening to the weather report."Of course, all my friends here are great," I continued, glancing over at Bob. "Not to mention, the farm's coming along pretty nicely, and I have you and Homer. I'm pretty lucky, right?"

He gnawed on a chew toy, pondering the question.

Shrugging, I looked up at the ceiling, humming to myself again as I let the day sink in. Something seemed to flit around behind my eyes, but I blinked the nagging feeling away - at least, for a moment. "I wouldn't mind helping him out again, though. He's pretty cool." I felt my heart speed up slightly, and looked down at my clasped, fidgety hands, laughing to myself. "God, I'm acting weird."

"...With a seventy percent chance of rain Saturday, and severe thunderstorms expected to cool things off some around Mineral Town and Forget-me-not Valley," the red-haired woman on TV finished brusquely, shuffling her papers and nodding. "Don't get sick or anything."

"I just ate too much," I reasoned quietly, clicking the TV off and shuffling off to my room to gather up my dirty laundry. "That's all."

The odd, uncomfortable feeling stayed with me all through the night, finally settling down to rest somewhere in my stomach as I drifted off into a sleep riddled with pleasant, vague dreams that slipped out of my grasp the moment I awoke the next morning.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Aaaand... finally. Finally got this chapter whipped up. Finally figured out where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do, and I hope I pulled it off reasonably well. I think you can see where this is headed - after I figured out the what, pacing was the big issue for me (always has been). Well, onward - writing can only improve with practice!

Thanks to MarlinMarlen for the feedback, and to the excellent Jersey S for all her feedback, input, suggestions, and just being an awesome friend in general. I'll see you guys in the next chapter!


	4. 3: Storm Warning

Chapter 3: Storm Warning

* * *

In the days following the get-together at Kai's, I found myself becoming more and more swamped in work as summer truly, fully set in. A shipment of apple saplings had come in from Forget-me-not Valley, and I tackled and shook down Won for some free pineapple seeds after I'd caught him trying to nick some of my tomatoes. I also learned the Mandarin phrase for "Your mother gives her body freely to cows". I may have thrown a rock at his head.

Nonetheless, I was happily kept busy - it left me with good reason to write off any fluttery feelings or flips of the stomach as hunger, or a side effect of the heat or exhaustion getting to me. Whenever a little voice spoke up in the back of my mind, I quickly learned to squash it right away. I learned that the voice would immediately home in on a certain possible source for these reactions, and that maybe it was full of crap.

As I patted the last of the dirt over yet another apple sapling, I exhaled loudly, wiping the sweat from my aching, clammy forehead and leaving a smear of crusty dirt in its place. Looking up, I waved to Karen and Ann as they left the nearby hot springs.

"Looking good, Jack!" Karen called, drawing a line across her forehead. Ann flashed me a thumbs-up, her own overalls wet and muddy.

I shrugged innocently, grinning back at them and clearing my sore throat, my voice coming out scratchy: "Makes me feel earthy."

The two shook their heads, giggling, and waved as they retreated higher up along the hillside. Chuckling to myself, I turned to grab my shovel, but found myself turning back to stare thoughtfully at the waterfall. It had been almost a week now without a word or a letter from the Harvest Goddess. I wasn't in any particular rush to hear more from her - I just couldn't help but wonder what she had in store for me, or when she was going to start going about it. She'd essentially taken over my one scrap of control in the situation, my wish, and was determined to choose it for me.

_You _did _get yourself into this... however unintentionally. On the other hand, she's a deranged lush. Maybe _you're _deranged and feverish, and she's just a mirage,_ I reasoned quietly, shaking my head as I now tossed a shovelful of dirt over my shoulder. I squeezed my eyes shut as a flash of pain seared across my forehead. _None of this makes any sense whatsoever. Ergo, it is the best explanation. Voila. Congratulations, you're nuts._

Gracefully accepting the reality of my madness, I slumped down against the newest sapling, downing an entire bottle of water in one gulp and breathing the thick, humid air in heavily. This level of labor was fairly new to me, and I still had to finish watering my crops - including my new, large patch of pineapple seeds. With a desperate glance to the sky, I let an inappropriately twisted smile stretch across my face - the clouds were slowly stretching out, thick and ominous. Just as the weather forecaster had promised.

I suppressed the urge to cackle, knowing I would start to cough, and that I would possibly scare the living hell out of my neighbors should they happen to step outside. "Hurry," I rasped, stretching an arm to the sky as a shadow fell over me, and a clap of thunder shook the ground. "Wow. That was fast."

A hand smacked against mine in an awkward high-five, and I heard an infectious, loud laugh from behind me.

"Day like this must be a dream come true right now," Kai called from behind me, grinning down from his spot behind the apple sapling.

I returned the smile, scooting aside to make room for him as he sat down next to me, and ignoring the fluttering in my stomach. "Hey! Off to go fishing?"

"Nah." Kai shook his head. "Weather's looking a little crappy for that right now. I was actually on my way to the library, but... well, it can wait." He shrugged, his dark eyes sparkling as they wandered over my fields. "Man, you've been busting your butt out here, haven't you?" At my pleased nod, he glanced upward, to the small tree we were sitting under. "This gonna be the orchard you told Mary about?"

Nodding again, much more enthusiastically, I cleared my throat. "The apple section, anyway. I want it to..." Scratching my chin, I groped around for the words to lay out my ideas to Kai: "I want... to be able to look down from Mother's Hill and... there's this ginormous sea of fruit trees below me! I always thought that would be awesome to see. Like a tree god surveying his domain!" The words were out before I could fully comprehend how obscenely stupid they sounded, and I heard Kai chuckle. Feeling my face burn, I scraped together the remains of my shredded dignity and continued: "It feels kind of grand in my head, though. I know it's gonna be a while before it really reaches that point."

"I think it sounds like a great idea!" Kai said, drumming his fingers on his knees as he surveyed the land. "Sounds really pretty, actually. I'd love to see a sight like that."

Following his gaze around the farmland as we made to stand up, I could almost see the colorful array of trees phasing into view - peaches in the corner near the stable, oranges in the center, and a vibrant spray of apple trees where we now stood. I blinked hard to clear away odd, fuzzy blotches that had started to float across my field of vision. "Well, you can, if you want... but I bet you've seen a lot of stuff on your travels, right?" Grabbing the watering can, I went to fill it up, hearing Kai follow along behind me.

"Yeah, but I always love seeing what someone's hard work creates," he explained. I could feel his gaze burning into the back of my aching neck as I headed over to water a patch of tomatoes.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw him standing at the edge of the field, looking conflicted and concerned. "Something wrong?"

A gust of wind kicked up, causing Kai's purple vest and bandana to flutter and flap, and causing me to realize just how clammy my skin felt again. With a wry smile, he pointed straight up to the sky. "Well, I just thought that maybe I should be heading back soon, before it starts to pour. And - well-" He tugged anxiously at the collar of his shirt, seeming to fidget for the words. "-I mean... shouldn't you be getting in soon, too? The rain's probably gonna finish all this up for you, and... you seem kind of..." He cleared his throat a few times, pointing to it.

My sweaty forehead wrinkled in confusion for a moment, before his words brushed against it - he had a point. I felt like Hell warmed over, and I had the feeling that only tact was keeping Kai from telling me that I looked the same way. My eyes widened slightly, and I felt a chilly wave sweep over me. "Yeah, you're right," I mumbled, feeling somewhat light-headed. The strange blotches started to cobweb rapidly across my eyes, obstructing my vision even more in ways I couldn't merely blink out. "Hoo boy. I... uhh, Kai, I'm pretty sure you don't have a face."

"Okay, let's get you in there," Kai's voice called from what sounded like another continent. The faceless, blotchy traveler advanced towards me, slung one of my limp arms around the nothing of his shoulder, and helped walk me wherever. I was only vaguely aware of anything going on around me, save for my struggle to stay conscious, and Kai's warm, encouraging hand on my back.

"Kai?" I groaned weakly, slumping against my bedroom doorway, hearing Bob's distant, hyper yapping melting into the woodwork. My bed looked so comfy and inviting, but my throat tightened and my stomach churned. The dam would burst soon, and I had to make it-

"Jack?" Kai's face was a fuzzy tan-and-purple blob now, peppered with the splotchy cobwebs that sucked all the color away. It all melted into a soup of moth-eaten visuals and aural gibberish as my stomach began to heave. "Oh baby, lettuce kitchen hat's broom. Pack? May, crack seuvighnu melheshi wabba blabba rum chum-"

I yelled something colorful and violent that left my throat burning, and Kai yelled something dry in response while I slipped into soft, comfortable, dogbark dreams.

* * *

_"Look at this! You really did it..."_

_I felt the hand squeeze mine tighter, and my stomach fluttered once more as we tore our eyes away from the incredible sight below, to face each other. The dark brown eyes twinkled, pride and excitement dancing in them._

_"I'm really proud of you, Jack. Look at what you've done with this place!"_

_A hand caressed my face, drawing out a hopeful smile across my lips._

_"And... Jack..."_

Groaning, my eyes creaked open, and I felt my heart thudding madly in my chest as the afterimage of the dream started to ebb away slowly from the edges of my consciousness. Somewhere deep down in my abdomen, I felt an odd jolt and wave ripple through as a flash of lightning threw certain details into sharper focus - along with a strange feeling of disappointment. With a sharp intake of breath, I sat up quickly in my bed, groaning as my forehead throbbed madly in protest. A bitter, tangy taste lingered in my dry throat, and the pounding rain and howling wind outside were driving a perpetual drumroll across my skull.

"Kill me," I groaned hoarsely, clambering clumsily out of my bed. The door to my bedroom was open, and I could hear the TV playing softly in the living room - but only a split second later, Kai rounded the corner from the kitchen, a mixture of concern and relief etched across his face. Bob bounded after him, tail whipping around wildly as he jumped up on me and sniffed my hand to ensure that I still existed.

"You okay walking?" Kai asked quickly, ushering me into a chair at the kitchen table. "You hungry? How're you feeling? You, ah-" He grimaced. "You don't need to.. _hurl _again, do you?"

I grunted and shook my head, scratching Bob behind the ear. "I... I think I'm fine..."

"Speaking coherently again, too. Cool!" Nodding firmly, Kai headed over to the stove - it was then that I caught the slightly nauseating aroma of soup and tea. "Thought you might be hungry when you woke up," he explained over his shoulder. "I just borrowed a can of chicken soup off Mrs. Lipschitz. You had a pretty nasty fever. Uhh, _have_," he corrected sheepishly, ladling some soup into a bowl and carrying it over to me with an apologetic smile. "Hope you're not mad at me for all this. I just wanted to be sure you were okay."

Something warm blossomed in my chest before the soup even touched my lips, and I cast my gaze down at the table, hiding my smile behind the bowl. "Not at all," I responded quietly, feeling my heart start beating faster. I was suddenly all too aware of what was going on with me, and having him sitting across the table was only making it glare down on me that much brighter. "That... that was... I really owe you one, Kai. Thank you."

Feeling far too confused and anxious to sit there a moment longer and avoid his intense gaze, I clambered up out of my chair, carrying my soup with me. "I... I might lay back down for a bit longer, though," I told him, looking over my shoulder. I saw his shirt and vest were stained, and I couldn't help but wince at the jumbled, distorted memory of me breathing my breakfast and lunch all over him like a dragon on acid. "There should be a pair of pajamas in the laundry, if you wanna change out of - oh, man, I'm so _sorry_."

"Hey, I'm just glad you're okay," Kai assured me, drumming his fingertips nervously on the tables' edge. Attracted by the sound, Bob sat by his feet, head tilted as he watched Kai tap on the table. "But, I... I don't wanna put you out or anything. So... maybe I should... head on b-"

"And make yourself at home," I interrupted, trying to fight away the knot that formed in my stomach - I could try to sort out my feelings later. Alone. Without constantly being reminded that Kai was lounging in the living room, perhaps wearing my clothes, and apparently watching a man eating rattlesnakes on TV while fretting over my physical well-being. "I mean, you saw how I got earlier, right?" I continued, forcing a reassuring smile back at him. "Don't wanna risk you getting sick too."

As if to punctuate my point, a massive blast of thunder rattled the windowpanes, sending Bob scampering under the coffee table with a yelp that was nearly drowned out by the heavy rain. I raised my eyebrows and shrugged, before dropping down to coax Bob out from under the table. He squirmed out and jumped up next to Kai on the couch.

"Well... okay." Kai still looked somewhat uncomfortable, scratching Bob behind the ear and watching the snake eater climb a mountain. I slipped back into my room, shutting the door behind me and slumping against it, setting the bowl of soup on my bedside table before I slid to the floor. Part of me wanted to crawl back into bed and slip off into a long, deep, refreshing sleep. A pleasant sleep, where my dreams didn't involve me staring into Kai's lively, deep brown eyes, feeling his hand stroke my cheek. A dreamless sleep that didn't leave me jolting awake and feeling somewhat disappointed, mind crammed with too many questions for anyone to deal with when just waking up.

_Maybe that can be my wish, _I thought wryly, listening to the quiet drone of the TV and the creak of my sofa as Kai shifted on it. _Answers. _

But I couldn't twist the obvious answers into questions and play stupid forever. I already knew one thing, and I would have to admit it to myself eventually:

I was attracted to Kai.

I felt something constrict in my chest, and my breath caught as I allowed the impact of the realization to wash over me, pushing away the nagging reminder that Kai was very near right now. _Well... I don't even know him that well yet, _I thought, trying to calm my frazzled nerves. _I mean... how did this happen? _Shrugging helplessly, I drew my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, pushing my mind to try and make sense of it all. Unfortunately for my brain, my headache would be having none of it, and bit back like an aggravated wolverine. Sighing deeply, I padded over to my bed, slipped back under the sheets, and stared quietly at the bowl of soup Kai had fixed up for me while I was asleep.

In spite of my unease, I allowed myself a small smile - whatever the situation, Kai was certainly turning out to be one hell of a friend so far. I grabbed the bowl of soup and drained it gratefully, letting the warmth seep through me as I drifted off into a troubled sleep, listening to the storm rage outside in the summer night.

* * *

My fingertips grazed something soft, my tingling arm dangling pointlessly over the edge of my bed as I woke up the next morning. My head still ached, and I was congested - but the rest had been a decent help, nonetheless. Humming and stretching, I gave Bob a gentle scratch on the back, before rolling out of bed and groaning. Looking out my window, I saw a light rain falling, and sighed gratefully - I'd only need to tend to Homer today.

As I slipped through my half-open bedroom door to go make coffee, the sound of deep, even breathing from the living room sent a shock through me before the events of yesterday reeled quickly through my mind.

_Kai. _Or an assassin who sucked at stealth, waiting for the right moment to strike. Rounding the corner into the living room gave me the answer. I leaned against the door frame, staring wide-eyed at the tanned, sleeping man curled up on my couch and wearing my shorts and t-shirt. His purple bandana lay on the coffee table, leaving his short, messy black hair uncovered. This solved at least one of the greatest mysteries I'd encountered in the past month.

Feeling more than a little uncertain, I lingered in the doorway for a few minutes, watching him doze peacefully. A small lump formed in my throat, and I quickly turned to go get breakfast started in the kitchen.

A short time later, Kai peeked uncertainly around the corner of the kitchen doorway, his dark eyes darting around for a moment before settling on me. With a broad grin, he came up to me and gave me a hard smack on the back, ignoring my pained grunt.

"Hey, man! Glad to see you up and about!" Despite his infectious enthusiasm, my head still hurt, and I shot him a weak smile as I rubbed my temple. Catching on, he lowered his voice: "Feeling better, though?"

"Well enough," I responded, shrugging, as I turned off the stove and fixed a plate for him. He accepted it gratefully, digging in while I poured a massive cup of coffee for myself. I tilted the pot towards him.

"Nah, I'm good. I get my energy from the sun!"

We both turned our heads to look out of the kitchen window.

"Well, crap," Kai muttered, shrugging. "I... have some energy on reserve, probably."

I snickered. "C'mon, Kai, you're allowed to say you don't like coffee. I have orange juice, too."

Kai raised his hands in surrender. "That'd be fine by me!"

After breakfast was finished, I rinsed the dishes off in the sink... only to find Kai drying them off and putting them away. I watched uncomfortably for a few seconds, before clearing my throat to catch his attention.

He grinned apologetically, averting his eyes. "Just repayment for the breakfast is all."

"But you already did a lot for me," I pointed out, taking the remaining plates from him and setting them away. "I mean..." Avoiding his gaze, I began to rummage around in the cabinets to get clean bowls and food for Bob. "I mean, you..." My face went warm as the rest of the sentence died on the tip of my tongue. It was a lot, all at once - my brain had blown the whistle, sending all my thoughts to lunch.

"Well... anyone would've done the same, I'm sure," Kai insisted, but he hung over by the table afterwards. Once I was finished setting down fresh food and water for Bob, Kai spoke up again: "It looks like the weather's let up."

A small twinge of disappointment stirred in my stomach as I followed his gaze out of the window. His expression was unreadable. "That's good... least that means I can take it easy today."

"You gonna be okay, then?" Kai asked, glancing sideways at me.

Part of me wanted to suddenly develop a roiling wave of nausea that would convince him that I was too ill to function without his presence. Another part immediately dismissed the idea as pathetic and helped pop the answer out of my mouth: "I... I think I can manage." _And I can sort this all out without the distraction._

"I guess I should be heading back for now. Err-" He looked down at the clothes he was wearing, giving a nervous chuckle. "Wouldn't be good manners to steal your clothes, though."

After Kai changed back into his now-clean work clothes, and after I insistently draped my raincoat over his head at his protests, he turned and bid me goodbye. "And I'll stop by and return this tomorrow! Promise!" But when he spun back around to leave, my hand shot out to catch him by the shoulder.

"Kai, wait!" It was out before I could stop myself.

He shot me a puzzled look over his shoulder, and my throat worked to get out what I wanted to say - whatever it was. "I... well... thank you," I sputtered. "And - and take care, okay?"

He nodded, giving me a broad, pleased smile - his eyes were dancing again. "Of course, Jack!" Waving, he spun around. "Guess I'll be seeing you around, then!" Off he splashed, in a flash of flapping yellow vinyl.

I watched him go with a mixture of relief and disappointment, grunting in annoyance as I grabbed my umbrella and headed to the stable to tend to Homer.

_How did this even happen? _I thought for the fiftieth time in five minutes, dragging the brush through Homer's mane once more, before holding out a carrot for him to inhale. I'd never really given much thought to anything along those lines before, and I couldn't quite figure out the whats and the whys. _I mean... it's not like I've ever been with anyone before, but - I never thought I'd have a crush on a _guy, _either. Does that make me... well, is it even that important? Maybe... maybe I shouldn't bother wondering. It _happened_, and I'm just... just going to..._

Another what for me to figure out. What to do, how to handle it, what should I say, should I say anything at all, was I overreacting - groaning in frustration, I trudged back inside my house, popping two aspirin and flopping down on the couch to watch The Shogi Hour. Mind-numbing boredom was just the ticket I needed right now, to stop thinking about his sparkling brown eyes, his vibrant and generous nature, his bare, tan legs-

"Shut up, mind," I snapped, ratcheting the volume up. The same pawn, the same pawn, the same pawn - thrilling Sunday morning tension that brought a tear to my eye and a rustle to my jimmies. It was still infinitely better than dwelling on the tangled jumble of new feelings that had gradually worked their way into a violent tempest inside me.

I needed some answers, and fast.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Well, look at that! Jack has a crush! Aww! And all the angst that comes with the fact that it's completely new to him.

Well, what'll come of it? We'll just have to see. This is turning a little more serious than I initially envisioned at this stage of the story, though I'm hoping the whimsical part is still coming through - and handling the HG's part in it is certainly going to prove tough. Well, you grow and you learn as you go along. Anyway, thanks to those reading and following along so far, and another round of thanks to Jersey S for her feedback and overall great guidance! See you guys in chapter 4!


	5. 4: Days Go By

Chapter 4: Days Go By

* * *

The funny thing about being lost, and confused, and wanting answers, was that you usually wound up not knowing what the hell it was you wanted to ask in the first place. You wanted to know what was going on, sure. And you kind of knew anyway, at least a little bit, but you were still baffled regardless. So you ended up just putting things off to clear your head some, and avoiding the people involved... maybe with a pile of work and social obligations.

"Ah, damn, gonna be late for my haircut with Mrs. Welvin," I reasoned on Monday, making a U-turn away from the direction of the hot springs. I munched on the strawberries I'd brought with me, stealing furtive glances over my shoulder. Nothing. Good.

Tuesday wasn't that much better - wasps had moved into the apple tree by my bedroom, and I spent the better part of the evening being treated by Trent and Elli for the myriad of stings I'd acquired in my genocidal rampage.

On Friday, the 1st of June, it rained out Opening Day. It was rescheduled for Saturday, which just so happened to be when I had tons of laundry to do. As I lay in bed that night, I tried to force out the mental image of Kai rising triumphantly from the sea in his wet, clingy swim trunks. This only led to him suddenly turning into a reverse merman with the head of an angler fish. I woke up in a cold sweat the following Sunday morning.

Gray wound up winning anyway, as I learned from Popuri on Monday, when I stopped by Chicken Lil's to return a book I'd borrowed on raising chickens. The afternoon was spent waffling on the price of a pair of hen and rooster chicks together, or simply playing gender roulette with incubated eggs. I wound up taking the newly-named Luigi and Daisy home that evening, Popuri carrying the excited young chicks, while Rick and I lugged massive bags of feed behind us.

"HI, I'M DAISY!" Popuri squeaked, nodding Daisy in Luigi's direction. Rick and I shared an amused glance and rolled our eyes.

By the following weekend, I'd managed to steal some time in the mines, hoping to churn up some decent ores so I could whip my beat-up watering can into shape. My fields were getting fuller, and taking on all the watering by myself at this rate was getting too taxing.

I hugged the rocky hillside and quickly nudged my way past the waterfall, gulping audibly as my eyes darted around every which way, hoping the Harvest Goddess wouldn't ambush me and inquire about my absence - provided she cared that much. I nearly karate-chopped Gray when I bumped into him on my way out of the mine.

"Crazy asshole," he muttered, stomping inside with his pickaxe.

In-between excuses and the ever-increasing piles of work I deliberately buried myself under, I chanced a festival or two - the Sumo Chicken Competition culminated with Luigi placing a respectable fourth in the Chick Division, while I placed second in the Tomato Festival with Elli and Stu. Kai was absent during the latter, owing to a nasty hangover. "Nobody beats Karen at drinking," Ann said gravely. "But he just keeps trying, the fool..."

The few times I did spot Kai over those three weeks were often marked by exchanging friendly waves from a distance, before I quickly excused myself and went back to work, or whatever other errand I'd decided to throw myself into that day. We exchanged a small amount of chatter, I got my raincoat back alongside a compliment on my haircut (prompting me to almost swallow my own tongue), and I felt myself grow a little more crestfallen each time I sent him on his way. I didn't trust myself to calm my nerves enough around him quite yet.

I did get a high five for Luigi's small victory, though, leaving my hand tingling pleasantly, before I excused myself to gather the yellow ribbon and get Luigi home before Daisy got too lonely. I couldn't help but think I'd heard Kai calling out to me as I left.

June finally came to a relative stop somewhere around the 16th, when I'd run the well dry of excuses and had just about been ready to resort to straight-up procrastination and hermitage. Inwardly chiding myself for my cowardice as I lifted Bob from the bucket of soapy water and wrapped him up in a towel, I spun around to see a rather purple someone heading towards me, deep brown eyes lighting up as our gazes met.

Bob's tail wagged madly under the towel as Kai called out to me, half-jogging towards my farm, his bright smile making my stomach flip. Ducking into my house would be too blatant at this point, even if I was cradling a wet, barking dog in my arms. As easy as it was to ignore the Harvest Goddess, I couldn't go on avoiding _Kai_ forever, could I? But what _could_ I do?

As it turned out, he answered for me:

"What's up, man? I've been wanting to ask you something, but..." His gaze focused slightly above mine, and I felt a python-sized tendril of guilt constricting my stomach when he continued: "Well, I guess you've been busy." He nodded at Bob, who once again barked happily and squirmed halfway out of the towel to sniff enthusiastically at Kai's grinning face. "Hope this isn't a bad time?" he added, ruffling the damp, curly mop Bob had recently started growing back out.

_Yes, I still haven't worked out how to approach you at the moment, _I didn't say, instead nodding dumbly. The thought suddenly struck that Kai could misconstrue my actions as a, "Yes, this is a bad time," so I rapidly shifted into shaking my head. _No, you're right, this is a bad time. _Well, that wasn't going to work, either. Shit. Wasn't there sign language for these kinds of questions?

At Kai's confused, slightly upset glance, I waved awkwardly. "Shampoo fumes," I lied, shrugging. "Made me a bit dizzy. Wooooo."

Kai stared at me, eyebrows raised.

"Wooo," I repeated helplessly. _Yes, yes, that's right. Think me an idiot, Kai. Do it! This may make it easier. _I wasn't sure if this meant my brain was working with me or against me. I certainly _felt_ like an idiot, either way.

"You're not... sick again, are you?" Kai asked worriedly, his hand hovering in the air, as if unsure of whether or not to check my temperature.

Shaking my head to clear it, I motioned for him to follow me inside, hefting Bob under one arm. "Probably not." _In a sense, maybe._ "Anyway, now's not a bad time, don't worry. Make yourself at home," I called, heading to the linen closet to grab a dry towel and a comb for Bob. "I've just gotta get some stuff, gimme a moment." Mentally kicking myself for my poor hosting abilities as I padded back into the living room and sat down on the floor with Bob, I hastily added, "You thirsty or anything?"

Kai shook his head, scooting off the couch and sitting down across from me and Bob. "Nah, I'm good. I'm only gonna be here a second."

Torn between sagging in relief or disappointment, I simply nodded as I began toweling Bob off. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kai looking a bit hesitant. Not good. What if I'd blown him off too much?

_Calm down. He hasn't even said why he's here yet. Geez. _I gave him a small, encouraging smile.

"You... just got here around the start of the year, right?" Kai began, eyeing me thoughtfully.

"Yep, January. Why?"

"Well, in about a week... actually, next Sunday, we've got another festival coming up in town," Kai explained, watching with rapt curiosity as I carefully began combing out tangles and knots in Bob's fur. "The Fireworks Festival, that is. You visited here as a kid, right?" he added quickly.

My curiosity was fully piqued now, and I looked up at him. "Yeah, but only in spring. I've never been to that festival, actually. Only heard of it."

This seemed to cheer him up considerably. "It's excellent! It's loud, and colorful, and mesmerizing! It's like you're watching the sky blossom!" In spite of my nerves, I smiled. His enthusiasm was extremely cute. Catching himself, he cleared his throat in embarrassment, and continued contritely: "Well... you get the idea. I think it's one of the best ones, actually, even better than the Firefly Festival."

That particular festival sounded foreign to me, but I shrugged it off. I still had more to learn about Mineral Town, after all. "Sounds amazing," I agreed, feeling my heart beat a bit quickly as I started to work out where this was going. He wasn't...?

Nodding and looking a bit more confident, Kai went on: "And I know a great spot to watch the fireworks from, too. The summit of Mother's Hill. You get a really great view, and after it's over... it's really dreamlike. Peaceful. Lets you stop, and think a bit..." He paused, looking pensive for a moment, before snapping out of it. "Anyway, I dunno if you've got plans that night, or what, but... if you don't...?"

"I don't," I responded immediately, feeling my face burn. _Is he...? Well, he's trying to make friends with you, just the same as always, that's all... don't get ridiculous about this._ His dazzling smile didn't help matters. _Jesus, that's hypnotic. _"I'd love to go," I added, almost unnecessarily, my face growing even warmer as I absentmindedly combed the same spot on the top of Bob's head over and over again.

"Awesome!" Pulling himself up off the floor, Kai bounced slightly on his feet and stuffed his hands into his jean pockets, his dark eyes twinkling. "I'll meet up with you around seven that night, okay? It should start about the time we reach the summit."

"That... that sounds great," I agreed, struggling to swallow my heart back down before it wrestled its way out onto my tongue. I could already feel it beating against my throat, my brain too busy hyper-analyzing the situation to bother telling it to sit down in my chest where it belonged.

"Well, I've gotta be heading out," Kai announced, giving Bob a last ruffle on the head and messing up his mop - though Bob and I honestly didn't care - and nodding at me. His hand hovered above my shoulder for a second, before patting it, and I felt my skin tingle. "I'll see you next Sunday, then?"

"Of course! Well, and maybe before then," I added, feeling a bit dumb for voicing it out loud. No need to make the avoidance even worse in the meantime. Regardless, he looked pleased.

"Can't wait! Well, see ya, then!"

I tried to tear my gaze away from the sight of his impressive, jean-clad backside as he headed towards the front door. _I need to quit._ What was I doing? He suddenly stopped and turned, and I gulped and looked up. I'd been caught. No getting out of it now.

"And, Jack?"

_Sorry, Kai. I didn't mean to check out your butt, seriously. I'm not usually like that. Won't happen again, I swear. Attracted to you? Oh, right, about that. _It all condensed into a single "Yes?"

"Really, don't be a stranger, okay?" He gave me another smile, but his face was serious now. Exchanging nods once more, he left me to finish drying and combing Bob.

Everything only served to fuel my wonders and worries even more - I had to say something to him sooner or later, and he'd just provided me with either the perfect opportunity, or the worst possible one. I wasn't sure which, when I couldn't even convince myself of his intentions - I knew enough to not trust myself to read things correctly, no matter how suspect the conditions might be. Regardless, next Sunday would certainly be a big day for us both. I was absolutely sure of that.

Not to mention, I had another social visit to stop putting off...

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Well, THAT took forever for such a short set-up chapter. I wasn't sure how to handle the passage of time - I originally wanted to set the festival in late July, but since I'd established the story as starting in late May, I kind of had to work a little quicker. This is what I wound up with. The perils of setting it in a particular time frame... (and trying to fit the Harvest Moon world's bizarre seasonal calendars to reality... I decided to borrow a festival from another HM, as well, simply because I love the Firefly Festival, and think it'd be great for Mineral Town to have.)

Anyway, thanks to Jersey S for her feedback and critique, as always, and to you there - yeah, you, with the face, you sexy act of science - for reading, following, and favoriting! And with that, we'll meet again in chapter 5... now with extra fiber!


	6. 5: Tell Me

Chapter 5: Tell Me

* * *

The Harvest Goddess seemed to freeze in place, only idly continuing to munch away at the now-mushy strawberry rolling around in her mouth as she stared at me with wide, green eyes.

"Oh, wow," she muttered, eyebrows shooting up. "Man, I didn't expect _this_ to happen... well, I suppose anything can," she added as an afterthought, but my attention zeroed in on the first half of her statement.

"Expect it to... why? Expect what to happen?" I eyed her suspiciously, feeling myself shiver a bit. "What did you do?!" My hands unexpectedly flew to my stomach, and I patted it frantically. "Y-You didn't make me _pregnant, _did you?"

Silence dropped down to hang between us, like a cheap cardboard stage prop. Only the rushing of the waterfall and the competitive chirps of birds and cicadas dared to challenge it.

The Harvest Goddess smacked me upside the head. "What kind of lunatic do you think I am?!" she snapped. "Hell no! I _learn_ from my mistakes!" Sighing, she pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut, muttering darkly to herself as I scowled and rubbed the spot where her hand had struck. Fixing her piercing green gaze back on me, she folded her arms. "For your information, _my_ only intentions were for you guys to become friends. You get along with most of the villagers... this is just a lucky side effect. I can't exactly _make_ people become infatuated with each other, though..."

This admission hadn't been what I'd expected. "Uhh, thanks," I began slowly, "but... I _have_ friends... not that I'm ungrateful or anything!" I added quickly, holding my hands out defensively as she opened her mouth to speak again. "He's a cool guy, but-"

I stopped. But what? I slouched in defeat, jamming my hands into my pockets. There _was_ that pesky crush hanging over me... but all-in-all, I'd run down the list of my reasons for wanting to confront the Goddess over these developments. That very list had only gotten smaller as I'd thought more about it. Now, the rest was up to me.

"Well, I know there might be... _complications,_" she added thoughtfully, tapping her chin. Her words caught my attention, and at my questioning gaze, she wagged her finger at me. "Oh, come on. You _know_ what I'm talking about..."

I shook my head, but stopped myself - there _was_ something I'd been... ignoring? Or just plain ignorant of... Maybe this wasn't something I wanted to pursue yet, after all. Not a possible fling with someone I hardly knew, that would only be over in a month or two. Seemed pointless.

"I mean, maybe you two could work something out," the Harvest Goddess continued, shrugging. "Let's cut the crap here: Why do you think he invited you to the Fireworks Festival, anyway? He took to you pretty quickly," she finished, smirking.

I nodded slowly. I hadn't exactly been willing to admit it completely to myself - or, at the very least, hadn't wanted to jump to it as a foregone conclusion. It seemed a bit arrogant, like assuming you got a job because the interview went fine, or thinking you passed a test because you didn't second-guess any of the answers. Maybe it was different hearing someone else agree with the suspicions, though.

"Guess I'm just going to have to figure out what to do about it," I mumbled, scuffing the toe of my boot against the grass. "...Maybe I'm just getting ahead of myself here, though."

"I'll leave that up to you to figure out," the Goddess told me. "Like I said, I did what _I_ set out to do, and romance isn't an area I'm allowed to dabble in anymore. Sorry."

I waved off her apology. "Nah, at least I've got a friendship out of this, I guess, right?"

She drummed her fingertips on her elbows and nodded, looking at me with a strange expression on her face. "Yeah. I suppose you do, don't you?"

As we parted ways, more questions flitting around my head now, the unspoken thought split in two, trailing behind each of us:

That friendship could be rickety if it didn't get navigated just right. I had two more days to figure out how I was going to handle it.

* * *

Sunday blazed down on Mineral Town - bright, harsh, and unforgivably humid in the wake of Friday and Saturday's passing storms. I found myself taking frequent breaks in the shade of the apple tree by my bedroom, listening to the hypnotic screeches of cicadas, and watching dragonflies flit lazily around the field. They knew better than to disturb my flourishing bounty. With all the pent-up anxiety brimming just under my skin, I would only leave their civilization in flames.

My mind was hazy and sticky, gummed up in the sweltering heat - I hadn't quite settled on a game plan for how to navigate my time with Kai in a few short hours. Most of my conclusions fell somewhere into the same general area: "Just go with your intuition". To keep my brain from further veering out of control and into panic mode, I simply settled on this all-too-blatant suggestion. Mulling over it any more would just be pointless.

The sun began to finally set around six-thirty, leering over the top of Chicken Lil's as I herded Luigi and Daisy back into their coop. My heart began hammering faster and faster through my shower, and by the time I was dressed and waiting for Kai outside, I felt like I'd swallowed two balloons, and my ribs were trying to deflate them.

"Hey! You ready?"

I jumped off the railing of my porch a bit too eagerly, running over to greet Kai. "Yeah... up the hill, right?"

He nodded happily, and we set off, hands stuffed in the pockets of our shorts as we both lapsed into small talk:

"Sorry I haven't stopped by the diner lately. How's it going?"

"Pretty good... think I've got some new recipes I wanna try. How's the farm?"

"Coming along alright." _Unlike the conversation, _I thought, feeling a small ripple of panic flash through my body. _I'm sure he's just as nervous as you are, _my mind desperately reassured me, listening to Kai humming to himself as we passed the lake. "So..." I began, not entirely sure where I even wanted the conversation to go - anywhere not awkward. "When did you start coming up here for the fireworks?" An owl hooted from the nearby grove, the summit bobbing into view.

"I guess... maybe about seven years ago?" Out of the corner of my eye, I caught him shrugging. We approached a pine tree at the summit and sat down beneath it, leaning our backs against the broad trunk. "Rick and I never really got along, but I'm really close with Karen and Popuri," Kai continued, looking out to the sky. "But whenever I'd try to sit with one of them at the festival, he'd always start bitching and griping, and I'd start bitching and griping back, and everyone would get upset. So for a few years, Karen just got the idea to come up here, without telling him. He got _pissed_."

He cracked a small smile. "I mean, we've made our peace since then - still not the best of friends, or anything. But we... uh, coexist, I guess." His eyes shone. "And I still like watching the fireworks from up here. You'll see why in a minute!"

I started to ask about why Kai and Rick used to fight, but thought better of it - no point raising that back from the dead. Not when I had so much riding on this one night. Stretching out my legs, I grunted happily. "Well, I've never actually seen the fireworks before, so this'll be a great intr- whoa, _hello!_"

My words were yanked away from me by a piercing whistle, soaring higher and higher into the starry black sky before a loud _pop_ and a huge, bright burst of green sparks followed. A few seconds later, a blue firework blossomed far above our heads, followed by yellow, pink, white, red - too many colors to keep track of. Even though I'd seen fireworks before, I still felt light-headed seeing them this close.

With a jolt, I realized my fingers and Kai's had become intertwined at some point, and chanced a glance over at him - if he noticed at all, he wasn't showing any signs of it. He was grinning broadly, watching the fireworks, the sparkling colors shining and dancing across his dark eyes. Allowing myself a small smile, I leaned back against the tree and turned my gaze to the sky once more, even as I moved my hand away from his. I thought I saw him look my way, but turned my own eyes back up.

My stomach flipped as the finale exploded into the sky - a massive burst of noise and colors, each firework leaving no time for the preceding one to fade out before claiming its own spot. Even if I wanted to say anything at this point, it was too loud. I sure as hell wasn't eager to spoil the awe and excitement, or the odd sense of peace of the moment.

Once the sky was hazy with the fading smoke, however, the weight dropped firmly back into my stomach. A countdown began in my head, wondering where the night would go from here - fireworks over, time to go home. A perfect opportunity to work up the nerve to say something to Kai, right? I flashed a nervous grin at him as the silence spiraled back into place around us, still feeling the warmth of his hand tingling on my own.

"Damn," I managed, chuckling. "You were right."

"It's a gift," Kai responded, laughing lightly. "Glad you liked it, though."

"We'll definitely have to do this again next year," I added eagerly, clambering onto my feet and stretching my legs. There was enough time heading down the hill to say _something,_ right? To work up a way to approach it? Even with the suspicions I had, actually addressing them was another matter entirely... let alone just blurting out how _I _felt. Helping Kai up, we turned and started making our way back down the hill.

It seemed oddly anticlimactic, to me: Go up, see fireworks, head back home. Part of me wished I'd stayed up there with him for a bit longer, just talking about whatever came to mind. Just chatting as the night wore on, growing closer - bonding. Strengthening our friendship. Actually getting to know him better, finding out if I'd been justified in letting my world get flipped over my feelings for this person I'd only known less than a month.

Well... there would still be time for that later, wouldn't there? Even after he left a few months later... we could always write...

Holding the twinge of regret firm, I shoved it back down into the recesses of my mind and uttered a blatant lie: "You know, I think I'll be sleeping pretty well after tonight." The level of cheer in my voice astounded me. If farming didn't work out, maybe acting would.

Kai shot me a puzzled look, and I shrugged. "I mean... well, it was a good night, that's all," I finished lamely, giving a weak chuckle as my hands crammed themselves into my pockets.

Kai kept his eyes on me even while we passed the lake, listening to the peaceful chirping of the crickets. "Are you okay, man? You're kinda..." He gestured at me. "Kinda fidgety."

_Surprised you don't know why... _I shrugged. Hell, he probably _did_ know. He wasn't stupid. "Nah. I'm fine. _Really_," I insisted, waving my hands defensively when his expression grew more skeptical. His response was unusually curt:

"If you say so."

Stung by the sharpness in his voice, I sighed, slowing down my steps right by the bridge leading back to my farm. Kai came to a stop right beside me, eyebrows raised curiously, rocking back and forth on his feet as he looked to me for an explanation.

"Well... okay. I just wanted to..." I fumbled for the words. This was difficult. Way too difficult, more than it should have been. "I... thank you, for everything you've done-" His expression grew a bit panicked, and triggered a sort of chain reaction in me. "No, I mean, really, I appreciate it! And I - just want to know if you'd... be up to going to the Firefly Festival next month. Is all. Yeah." I expelled all my breath in a deep _whoosh_, and exchanged a wry smile with him. "If you want to."

Kai chuckled and clapped me on the shoulder. "Jack, you're something else..."

_You should see me when I'm not acting like a dimwit. _"So... is that... a no?"

"Is that all you wanted to say?" Kai asked quietly, ignoring my question. We started walking again, passing the chicken coop.

I cast my eyes to the ground. Yeah, definitely acting like an idiot. "I... guess so..." _I would also like to say that I have the hots for you. Bad time, I'm sure. _Mentally kicking myself with each wordless step we took towards my house, I felt a pang in my chest. Maybe the Firefly Festival would be a better time...

"Well, I guess I'll see you around," I muttered awkwardly, my gaze dancing between Kai's eyes - did I see disappointment? Irritation? Was I just looking for what I wanted to find? - and the porch railing. The countdown timer in my head ticked loudly, down to mere seconds now. "Thanks again, Kai." My words were lost beneath the sirens and klaxons blaring loudly.

"Of course... anytime." Chest heaving with a loud sigh, Kai nodded and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "And... Jack, maybe I should - I want to just-"

I perked up hopefully, only to see Kai falter - the concept alone was bizarre, almost foreign. Kai didn't seem the nervous type. "What?" I pressed, wringing my hands behind my back. One of my feet tapped of its own accord. "Is something wrong?"

"No - not really. It - I guess it can wait," Kai mumbled, bitterness creeping into his words.

The hell it could. This coy crap had to stop. One of us had to say something about the matter, and I couldn't see myself working out my knotted tongue anytime soon. "C'mon," I managed pleadingly, laying a hand on his arm.

Kai sighed, and I felt my heart beat faster. Of all the times for him to become completely serious, to not even act like Kai. "Jack, I think you already know, so why-"

"Then just say it!" I cut in urgently, surprised at the insistence in my voice. The alarms shut off, leaving me shouting in thick silence. "I don't - Kai, I... look, we both - are we really gonna dance aro-"

My breath was knocked away in mid-sentence, with only a few soft touches - warm hands on my shoulder and cheek, and...

And...

...Was he kissing me...?

* * *

**Author's Notes: **No, Jack. He snapped your neck. You're narrating this post-mortem. Oh, uhh, spoilers.

Well, if neither of them can spit it out, the direct approach always works, right? I got stuck on this chapter for the longest time (when work, illness, and holidays weren't dragging me down) - first because I had to stop and seriously re-evaluate where I'd planned to take the story; then, trying to balance the situation and characterizations just so. Tough act, that. But, you gotta keep moving and grow, right?

Now what? Well, you'll see when I get around to chapter 6... and a big thanks, by the way, to everyone following along so far! Whether you're just reading along, or reviewing, following, and/or favoriting - thank you! Special thanks to Jersey S for being a huge help with her feedback and suggestions thus far.


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